 |
|
|
"We are yet to know his nationality. He may be a Bangladeshi citizen or a US citizen, or may have dual citizenship," Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told a press briefing on Friday.
"Whenever we are certain about his citizenship, we will ask for consular access."
If consular access is granted, a diplomat from the embassy would be able to meet Nafis in person.
Th meeting will held be Bangladesh time 10:00pm (Washington time 12:00 noon).
Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes said, "I have asked the Ambassador (Akramul Qader) to give us feedback within two hours of the meeting."
The Minister said, "It is a serious matter and I will not speak until I get feedback from our US mission."
"If we cannot have a formal press conference, me or Foreign Secretary will convey the latest situation or issue a press release," she said.
The Minister ducked a direct question on why police was grilling Nafis when his citizenship was yet to be established.
"I will urge his family to have patience... The government always protects the interest of its citizens abroad," she said.
In a statement issued by the US Justice Department, it said Nafis was arrested on Wednesday morning in downtown Manhattan after he allegedly attempted to detonate what he believed to be a 1,000-pound bomb at the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Liberty Street in lower Manhattan's financial district.
"The defendant faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda," the statement said.
Confusion about Nafis' roots
Earlier, Ambassador Quader told bdnews24.com, "Bangladesh's name is everywhere in the media now. We've communicated with the State Department to get the name of the arrested youth's father and his address. We also want to know where he was studying."
"First we'll have to be sure about his citizenship. He may not be a Bangladeshi despite carrying a Bangladeshi passport. Rohingyas are also collecting Bangladeshi passports," he had said.
UN Resident Representative A K Momen had told bdnews24.com, "Even if Nafis is a Bangladeshi, it is a separate story. The people and the government of Bangladesh do not believe in terrorism."
Bangladeshi police detectives on Thursday raided the Jatrabari residence of Nafis and questioned his family members.
His family lives at 107/4, North Jatrabari residence and his father Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah is a Vice President of the National Bank.
Nafis was a student of the North South University and before that he had studied in the Dhaka College.
The bomb charge
The US Department of Justice said in the statement on Wednesday Nafis had been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and provide material support to al Qaeda. He faces life sentence in prison, if convicted.
The FBI said on Wednesday morning (evening in Bangladesh) Nafis parked a van laden with 'explosives' in front of the bank in Manhattan and went to the adjacent Millennium Hilton Hotel. From there, he repeatedly tried to set off the mobile phone detonator of the 1000-pound bomb. However, it did not explode as the explosive was fake.
The NYPD said that Nafis was led on by an undercover FBI agent into their trap. He was under surveillance since July after he tried to search reliable associates to carry out the attack on behalf of al-Qaeda.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Masudur Rahman told bdnews24.com on Friday that the Nafis' family members were under watch. "They are not staying at their house at Jatrabari. They are staying at a nearby house of one of their relatives."
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন